A unique exhibition dedicated to the Centennial of Maserati was recently inaugurated in Modena. Maserati 100 - A Century of Pure Italian luxury sports cars retraces the story of the Italian car manufacturer through an exhibition featuring some of the Trident marque's most significant road and racing cars, plus a highly engaging show employing 19 projectors, enabling visitors to relive the most significant moments in the history of Maserati and to learn about the individuals who shaped its history. Staged in the futuristic Enzo Ferrari Museum, a stone's throw from the Maserati headquarters in Viale Ciro Menotti, the exhibition will run until January 2015. Considering the historic value of the models exhibited, this is the greatest exhibition of Maserati cars ever staged anywhere in the world. The inauguration of the new exhibition was attended by the CEO of Maserati, Harald Wester, and the Chairman of Ferrari, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. They were joined by the cousins Carlo and Alfieri Maserati, sons, respectively, of Ettore and Ernesto Maserati, the two brothers who in 1914, together with Alfieri Maserati, founded the company that still bears their name today. The guest of honor at the inauguration was the legendary Sir Stirling Moss, the 1950s Maserati racing driver who scooped incredible victories for the Trident marque. The curator of the exhibition is Adolfo Orsi Jr., grandson and son of Adolfo and Omer Orsi, owners of Maserati between 1937 and 1967. Coordinating the exhibition on the Maserati side is Luca Dal Monte, the company's director of public relations and press. The exhibition is organised under the supervision and direction of Antonio Ghini, director of MEF and of the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. Twenty-one Maseratis will be on permanent display for the duration of the exhibition and a total of approximately 30 will be admired over the course of the six-month run. At the exhibition inauguration, the CEO of Maserati Harald Wester observed that: “The Centennial of Maserati could not have come at a better moment in our history. […] This exhibition, which retraces our first century of history, is truly one of a kind: never before have all these models which have shaped our history been gathered together under one roof.” The Chairman of Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, who played a critical role in the re-launch of Maserati 15 years ago, said: “Today has a two-fold significance for me: I can clearly recall the conditions of quasi-neglect in which Maserati was floundering in 1997 when, together with my team at Maranello, I took up the challenge of re-launching the company. […] After this success story, Ferrari is today managing this important Museum which helps demonstrate to the entire world the unique ability that Italian car manufacturers have always had to build cars that are truly the stuff of dreams.” Maserati 100 will be the most important selection of Maserati cars ever presented. The Maserati exhibition encapsulates the two spirits of the company: the initial “sports” vocation that characterized the period from the early 1920s until the end of the 1950s, followed by a shift in focus to road-going models, a period that testified to the company's coming-of-age as a car manufacturer. Among the highlights of the exhibition are cars like the Tipo 26, the first car to sport the Maserati marque; and the V4 Sport Zagato, which set the world speed record in 1929 driven by Baconin Borzacchini. The exhibition would not be complete without the legendary Maserati 250 F and of course the Tipo 60 “Birdcage”. The road cars on show include Maserati's first ever road car: the A6 1500 of 1947, the 3500 GT of 1957: the first granturismo, and the first series of the “world's fastest saloon”: the Quattroporte of 1965. — SG
